Review: The Walking Dead, Vol. 24: Life and Death

The Walking Dead, Vol. 24: Life and Death by Robert Kirkman
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

While there's nothing specifically wrong with this or the last volume, I can't help but feel like maybe I'm just burned out on tWD; I'm bored. I'm bored with Rick. I'm bored with Carl. I'm bored with whatever the new horrible group out to kill them is. While the whisperers are at least different from the other groups Rick and co have met before, they're still yet another in a long line of "people are bigger monsters than the walkers".

And can we talk about how utterly absurd the border thing was?

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Review: Noir: A Collection of Crime Comics

Noir: A Collection of Crime Comics by Diana Schutz
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Noir: A Collection of Crime Comics is a very thin volume of short crime stories, written by a variety of authors, well known and less well known. As with many anthologies, the results here are a mixed bag. While several of the tales here are pretty traditional pulp stories, most of them add some kind of spin to the genre, for better or worse. Unfortunately, in too many of these tales, the twists and tropes are very easily spotted. A number of the stories contained within have a strong science-fiction bent, which isn't bad, but was decidedly not what I was looking for or expecting from a book called Noir. The end result is a book of stories that are readable, but ultimately forgettable.

While the stories are generally all pretty middle of the road, the artwork is a more varied; with so many different visual styles involved, there's almost bound to be at least one that works for a particular reader. Of course, that also means there's almost certainly a story or two that just don't work.

While this is far from the worst crime comic I've picked up, there's not very much to recommend this. If you're looking for noir or crime comics, there's a lot better fare out there than this.

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Review: The Devil's Home on Leave

The Devil's Home on Leave by Derek Raymond
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

In The Devil's Home on Leave, Derek Raymond's unnamed detective sergeant in the Unexplained Deaths division takes on a cruel and twisted killer who boils a body to prevent the police from identifying the victim. As the detective closes in on a suspect and digs into the possible motives, he starts to wonder if this case isn't a lot bigger than it first appeared.

In this, the second book in the "Factory" series, readers are treated to more British slang, another sordid case, and more information about the jaded but dedicated detective.

While this entry is less introspective than the first book--the detective doesn't have hundreds of cassettes and journals from a philosophical writer to muse about this time--it's no less engaging. Raymond even manages to sneak in a quite a bit of humor. The interactions between the detective and his bosses and superiors area almost always at least chuckle-worthy; it helps when you've written a character who isn't just disinterested in promotion, but actively hostile towards the prospect.

Another solid entry from Derek Raymond.

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Review: He Died with His Eyes Open

He Died with His Eyes Open by Derek Raymond
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

He Died with His Eyes Open, by Derek Raymond, is the story of an unnamed police officer working in the small and under-funded "Unexplained Deaths" department of the British police force. In this, the first book in the series, he is brought in an apparently drunk, possibly homeless, old man is found brutally beaten to death. Over the course of the case, the narrator digs into the man's past and discovers his passions and fears. The further the detective digs into the case, the harder he finds it to maintain any professional distance from the crime.

Raymond's neo-noir mystery really captures the world-weary but driven detective character; the unnamed narrator hints at a dark or troubled past, but also displays a passion for uncovering the truth and providing justice to the people least likely to see it.

The sections dealing with the old man's writing are perhaps a little overly long at times, but this is still a really good entry.

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Review: Meteor Men

Meteor Men by Jeff Parker
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Meteor Men, by Jeff Parker, Sandy Jarrell, and Kevin Volo, is essentially a first contact/alien invasion story focusing on a lonely teen, Alden Baylor. Alden is an orphan, and when a series of strange meteors strike the planet, Alden finds one of them in a field he inherited when his parents passed away. It doesn't take long for Alden to figure out that there's more to the meteors than most people thought, and for the government to start investigating the reports of strange beings showing up across the globe.

This is mostly fun, but fairly predictable, YA sci-fi romp. The inevitable conclusion is obvious a long way off, and when the government types start butting in, it's not any big surprise how they react. Jarrell and Volo do a fine job making sure that the young characters actually look like young characters, and their approach to the aliens and alien speech works well. This is an entertaining enough read, but there's not much to make it a strong recommendation.

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Review: Batman: Odyssey

Batman: Odyssey by Neal Adams
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Batman: Odyssey is apparently the magnum opus of Neal "easily in the top ten greatest Batman artists who ever lived" Adams. Find me a list of the best or most influential Batman artists that doesn't include Neal Adams, and I'll show you a list made by someone who doesn't know what they're talking about. Adams helped define the character in a way that few other artists can claim, and his work is still amazing to see.



His writing, on the other hand... well...

Batman: Odyssey has, in a way, very similar aims to Grant Morrison's run on the Dark Knight. It's an attempt to reconnect with Batman's roots and tell a story grounded in the ways that Batman has changed over the years. Where Morrison tried to find a way to reconcile decades of continuity, though, Adams is looking at thematic slices. We see Batman as he was at the beginning of his career, before he had Robin by his side, and we see Batman as he is now, much later. Adams is interested in exploring some of the quirkier aspects of the character, and he wants to tell a story, I think, about what makes Batman, Batman.

Whether he's successful is... a matter of some dispute.

Let me just say, up front, that artist Adams is still at the top of his game. Mostly. There are certainly a few panels that stand out as being perhaps a little bit overdone and border on parody. If nothing else, you can't accuse his version of Bruce Wayne of being understated.



That aside, you can definitely see why Adams is listed among the greats. His depictions of Batman in action have an amazing amount of energy and motion, and he has a tremendous imagination. There is an incredible sequence wherein Batman is flying a giant bat, avoiding shotgun fire from an oil prospector riding a dinosaur. Which is probably something you wouldn't expect to see in a modern Batman book, but there it is, looking not ridiculous, but ridiculously awesome.



I particularly like the subtle touches he uses to show how Batman has evolved over time. In the scenes of his early adventures, you always see his eyes, but in the later years, he has protective shields that create the "white out" effect modern readers are used to. The early costume's "horns" wrinkle and bend when he climbs atop the train, as well. These little touches are a visual treat.

The problem is that Adams just doesn't write this particularly well. The plot, to put it mildly, is a mess. At the start of Batman: Odyssey, Bruce Wayne is telling an unseen audience the story about the time he told Robin the story of the time he stopped a train robbery but got shot in the process. Adams makes liberal use of flashbacks and time jumps throughout the story, but never to a particularly clear purpose. The use of the frame story seems mostly there to help drive home that Batman underwent an Odyssey (which is also drive home by Adams repeatedly having the character explicitly say that he went on an Odyssey) and to provide the opportunity for Batman to infodump.

Comics are a visual medium. While there are obviously times that you need to infodump for plot purposes, if you find yourself doing large infodumps at the beginning of every issue (or, in some cases, several times throughout an issue) you're probably doing something wrong. Despite his capable skills as an artist, Writer Adams does a lot of telling instead of (sometimes in addition to) showing, and it's painful.



Sadly, his command of dialog isn't any better. Characters repeat themselves, repeat text from the narrative boxes, or repeat each other with alarming frequency. They pause or stop mid-sentence more often than the complete full thoughts. On one page, I counted 14 ellipses in eight dialog bubbles. I doubt there's a page in the book with fewer than six sets of ellipses per page.

I don't want to spend too much time beating up on Writer Adams, though, because the fact is, despite, or perhaps because of the writing, this is actually a pretty fun book. It's not a good book, but it's a lot of fun to read, and it's a visual treat. When is the last time you got to see Batman throw a tank like a bowling ball or straight-up punch an Egyptian god in the jaw? How often does Batman fight dinosaurs these days? Have you ever seen Batman shoot an old man in the back or threaten to murder innocent people?



The wild mood shifts (one minute, Batman is welcoming a character like an old friend, literally the next panel he's screaming at him like a maniac), horrible dialog, amazing visuals, and incomprehensible story make this fun to read in the same way that a lot of the classic B movies are to watch. There's heart, here, even if it doesn't seem like Writer Adams quite managed to pull off the story in the way he wanted to. If you can laugh off bad writing and appreciate the roller coaster ride for what it is, this might be worth a read.
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Review: Pretty Deadly, Vol. 1: The Shrike

Pretty Deadly, Vol. 1: The Shrike by Kelly Sue DeConnick
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

DeConnick and Rios's Pretty deadly is an Old West fairy tale about Death, as told by a dead rabbit to a butterfly (that, I think, isn't dead. Yet. Probably). A long time ago, or so the story goes, there was a man who loved a woman more than anyone in the world, but let his jealousy get the better of him. He locked her away from the eyes of other men, and she slowly died inside. When, at last, she could take no more, she sought the final sleep of death. But, alas, when Death came to her, he coveted her beauty as well, and he took her deep into his kingdom, never to see the light of day.



Eventually, she bore death's child. Death's child resented the man who loved her mother so much that he locked her away, and sought revenge on the man. Death, who knew her rage would be mighty, sought to use her as a pawn in an audacious scheme.

And so the story starts...

As you can see, there's a lot going on in Pretty Deadly. I haven't even touched on some of the subplots or minor characters, yet. For the most part, the plot focuses on death faced Ginny, the daughter of Death, and a young girl in a vulture cloak. DeConnick clearly has a love of fairy tales and myths, and I like the way that she's crafted a new mythology that feels true to the traditions that came before. The characters are larger than life and have an intensity to match the high stakes of the story. If anything, the story moves too fast in spots; this feels like it wants to be at least an issue or two longer. There are several characters who aren't given enough time to breathe, and there are a couple of plot points that are passed over without enough explanation. If you're like me, these points won't distract overly much during the initial read-through, but will nag a bit later.



I really like Rios' work, here. The color palate is perfect for the book, and she's created a visually compelling cast of characters. Her depiction of death is particularly well done, and the strange and surreal way that his lair is depicted fits the mythology of the story. There are a number of really cleverly done splash pages, too. I don't have a bad thing to say about the visuals, in fact. They're exactly right for this story; Rios has a good eye for the dramatic touches.



I hope that DeConnick is able to unpack future stories a little more and to tighten the plot up in future volumes, but for anyone who likes myths and Westerns, I wholeheartedly recommend taking a peak at this. This book does contain some graphic violence and has strong sexual themes and some brief nudity, so it's probably not a great selection for younger readers.



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Review: Deadly Class #1

Deadly Class #1 by Rick Remender
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

It's 1987, and Marcus Lopez is a teenage orphan on the run from his past. Living on the streets after his parents die in a freak accident, he spends his time avoiding the police, trying to scrounge up enough money and food to survive, and trying to forget his past. When he's offered an opportunity to attend the incredibly exclusive Dominion High School, he has to decide whether this is a killer opportunity, or just an opportunity to be killed.

Deadly Class, by Rick Remender, is part of legacy extending, I assume, back to the almost the beginning of all high schools everywhere. It doesn't take long for anyone who ever attended a public high school (and, I assume, most private high schools) to realize that... well... high school sucks. Obviously, there are some great moments, and the amount of free time that many kids have during high school is obviously the envy of most adults working the 40 hour week, but high school is also fraught with dangers. There are bullies and cliques to worry about. There are budding, fragile relationships forming, both platonic and romantic. Friendships form and dissolve with alarming frequency. The whole thing is so incredibly intense. Add to that the chaos of puberty and out of control hormones and teens natural tendency towards risk taking, and you have a recipe for one messy, awful time of life, especially if you're just a little bit weird or different.

And while I'm sure that there are people who don't have that experience, and who view high school as the best time of their life, there's a certain segment of the population who really connect to stories like Heathers or, now, Deadly Class. Here's a book that takes all of that hostility and frustration and the politics of youth, and turns it up to 11. A high school for the deadly arts, where every clique and in-group is a different type of homicidal maniac? Interesting.

It's a bizarre take on a long-standing tradition, and it was a ton of fun to read. My only concern is how long can Remender keep the protagonists interesting *and* likable in a world where they're being trained to murder people.

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Review: Daughters unto Devils

Daughters unto Devils by Amy Lukavics
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Amy Lukavics' creepy novel, Daughters unto Devils, follows teenage Amanda Verner and her family as they struggle with the threat of another disasterous winter. The previous winter, one of the worst on record, was particularly challenging for the family, and none of them are sure they'll survive another winter like it. To add to the family's trouble, Amanda is pregnant.

Picked this up on recommendation from a friend, and glad I did. This is a great book for Halloween. I won't lie; this starts off a lot slower than it should, and I think that Lukavics does too much telling and not enough showing in some places (if the family is that religious, show us; stop having Amanda repeat to us how religious they are with no evidence of it being shown), but the last third of the book... wow. She really shifts gears and turns up the creep-factor. I was genuinely surprised.

A fast read to get your ready for the Halloween holiday.

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36 Days of Halloween - 1995: Day of the Beast

Shortly before Christmas, a Roman Catholic priest discovers that the antichrist will be born before dawn on Christmas day. He decides the only way to stop the antichrist is by engaging in enough sins that he can sell his soul to the Devil and learn the location of the Antichrist's birth, whereupon he will kill the Antichrist and save humanity. He's helped in this quest by a record store clerk and a television... psychic. I first saw this film probably ten or fifteen years ago, while I was living in Ann Arbor; it was hard to track down a copy, but I'm glad I did; this film is very funny. Director Álex de la Iglesia carefully balances the comedy/horror line here, without ever slipping too far in either direction. The film opens with a glorious scene where the Priest, Angel Berriartúa, confides in the head priest; and is told that they can bear the weight of this cross together. Unfortunately for the head priest, this claim is tested much more literally than he expected, and Angel is left on his own. The scenes of Angel trying to sin his way into the Devil's good graces are quite funny. He steal luggage, harasses street preachers and mimes, and ultimately goes to a record store to purchase "devil music." Angel's attempts to sin his way into the Devil's good graces are hilariously absurd; he's a man who dedicated his life to God, and he thinks the Devil will accept him as his own if he buys a few heavy metal albums and shoplifts from a book. It's not a huge surprise when the Devil does not, in fact, confide in Angel. Despite the almost two hour run-time, this is a fast paced film; there's never a moment where the film feels slow or overly burdened. The director keeps the action moving by pushing Angel into more and more absurd situations in his quest to find the Antichrist. The actors involved deserve a ton of credit for the success, as well; the main cast and most of the supporting cast put in excellent performances, and help create tremendously likable characters. The biggest flaw with this film is the difficulty most people will have finding a copy. This is a thoroughly enjoyable darkly comedic romp. This one easily gets five out of five sides of a pentagram.

36 Days of Halloween - 1994: In the Mouth of Madness

In this John Carpenter cult classic, Sam Neill investigates the disappearance of famous New England horror writer H.P. Lovecraft... I mean, Stephen King... no, wait, sorry, I mean Sutter Cane. In recent years, Cane's work has become erratic, and his publisher is concerned about the disappearance. Sam Neill (played by actor Sam Neill) tracks the elusive and insane author to the fictional town where his books are set. In the face of the increasing evidence that Sutter Cane's work isn't quite as fictional as he thought, Sam Neill tries to hold onto his sanity and escape from Cane's world. I love this movie so much. How could I not? A famous horror author's works coming to life while a beleaguered investigator tries to make sense of reality unraveling? It's an awesome concept, right? Carpenter definitely plays with the idea in some awesome ways. Since the whole point of the film is that reality has come unhinged in the hands of a psychotic author, Carpenter is able to explore some interesting techniques to mess with the audience's expectations. One of my favorite ways that Carpenter portrays the breakdown of reality is through altering the chronology of the events and the character's perceptions of what has happened. Sam Neill lives through some of the events in the film three and four times. The first time this happens, it's treated as a dream sequence, but the motif reappears many times throughout the film (the most memorable being Neill's attempt to leave the town only to find himself driving back into the center of town). While the film is a little slow to start--contributing to the feeling that the film is perhaps 15 minutes too long--it really picks up once Neill visit's Hobb's End. There are some special effects that look a little dated, 20 years later, but there are also some amazing effects and cinematography that make this a must-see. There's a particularly inspired scene where Sutter Cane has revealed to Neill exactly what is happening and Neill is trying to come to grips, when the scene literally starts to unravel. Neill literally sees the reality behind the page (Sam Neill pulling away a page is another reoccurring motif). As I said, this film is perhaps just a little longer than it should be, and the special effects--especially the creature effects--are a little dated, but despite those flaws, there's a lot here to love. Sam Neill's performance is amazing; nobody else does gradually unraveling sanity quite like Neill. Carpenter clearly had a lot of fun making this, and there are a lot of really clever sequences (in all fairness, some of them probably should have been cut; they're clever, but not all of them are necessary). I strongly recommend giving this a try, particularly if you're a fan of H.P. Lovecraft's work. It's definitely not flawless, but it's still a lot of fun, provides some real thrills, and is a truly creepy film. Carpenter's exploration of madness is five out of five creepy New England horror novels.

36 Days of Halloween - 1993: Cronos

Guillermo del Toro's take on the vampire tale follows the battle between an antiques dealer and a wealthy, but dying, man as they vie for control of a device that grants the user a form of immortality... at a price. Like many of del Toro's films, this one is a bit of a genre blend. While there are obviously horror elements, given the involvement of vampires, this is still carries his trademark fairy tale-esque elements, as well. The resulti...ng blend becomes a sort of darkly whimsical tale, and a touching story about a man's love for his family. Cronos is a beautiful film, and I suspect that it will reward multiple viewings. If nothing else, it's a vampire movie with a unique premise, a fantastic cast, and a brilliant script. What more could you ask for? 5 out of 5 lifetimes lived.

36 Days of Halloween - 1992: Candyman

From the mind of Clive Barker comes a this film about an urban legend about a killer called the Candyman. Essentially a modern take on the "Bloody Mary" myth, the Candyman shows up if you say his name five times while looking in a mirror. A grad student, Helen, who is looking into modern myths discovers the tale, and starts to investigate the legendary figure, with tragic results. I'm a sucker for "urban legends are real" ...movies, and this is no exception. The Candyman figure is very creepy--from the hook embedded in his bloody stump, to his torso of bees, to the incredible voice, he's incredibly menacing. If his motivations aren't completely clear, at least he's distinct and memorable. The treatment of race in this film is about as subtle as a hook to the chest, but I guess it's at least *trying* to be aware of the kind of racism that creates and traps people in ghettos? The main plot ends up being a little confusing--there's a strong implication that the Candyman's real power comes from the belief of the people that he's there. The more people who believe the stories, the more powerful he is. Helen's skepticism seems to hurt him in some way, and he becomes obsessed with making her believe in him and in having her sacrifice herself to him. The biggest flaws here are in the pacing and the failure to press the "Helen is actually just super crazy" aspects. The pacing issues are really a result of having too many scenes of Helen wandering around doing nothing, watching her husband in class, and having the most awkward dinner party I've ever seen on film. While some of the scenes do provide important information and back story, I think they needed to be tightened up. To my mind, the bigger problem is the way that the film sets up the possibility that it really all is in Helen's head, but then doesn't follow up on it very well. It's certainly possible that Helen could have kidnapped the baby, killed her friend when she came to visit, and murdered her doctor to escape. The problem is that, by the time the film introduces this possibility, the movie is almost over, and then the supernatural elements are beyond refute. She's dead and comes back to murder her own husband, after all. Still, it's a pretty creepy movie with villain who has complex motives and an unforgettable screen presence. Call it four out of five Candymen.

36 Days of Halloween - 1991: Subspecies

Two young coeds head overseas to visit their friend and fellow student in Prejmer, Romania. While there, they study the local superstitions surrounding vampires. When they meet and befriend the handsome Stefan, they unwittingly find themselves in the middle of a family battle between Stefan and his monstrous brother, Radu, for control of their castle and the mystical bloodstone. While... this direct to video film has definitely not aged well in the special effects department--Radu's minions look, frankly, horrible--it's still a lot of fun to watch. Radu, with his long fingers and massive fangs, is extremely creepy, and watching him skulk around menacing people is fantastic.The premise--there are vampires in the area who hate each other and want to kill one another--is solid enough for a horror franchise, and the acting, while not award winning by any means, is capable enough for cheap thrills. I imagine my fond memories of watching this with a friend in high school colors my perceptions of the film a bit, but I had a great time watching it. Four out of five poorly animated blood minions out of five.

36 Days of Halloween - 1990: Arachnophobia

City doctor moves to the country. Spider moves from Venezuela to country. Spider finds loves, makes baby spiders. Baby spiders kill a bunch of people. Doctor tries to stop it. Arachnophobia is neither as funny nor as scary as I remember it being. Also, it turns out that it's John Goodman, *not* John Candy playing the role of the cocky exterminator. I don't know why I was convinced it was Candy. This isn't a bad movie, but it's not particularly exciting, either. I think I'll stick with Eight Legged Freaks as my go-to for spider-based horror comedies. Arachnophobia is pretty tame, sort of mid-grade "I expect that it plays on tv a lot" for a horror movie. 4 out of 8 spider legs.

36 Days of Halloween - 1989: Santa Sangre

This is a weird film; I'm not even sure how to summarize it. A young boy, Alex, grows up as part of a traveling circus. His mother, the acrobat, is extremely religious and devoted to the Church of the Holy Blood, and his father, the knife thrower, spends his days drunk or flirting with other women. Eventually, his mother discovers his father in bed with the tattooed woman, and throws acid on his groin in a fit of rage. His father cuts ...off her arms with his knives, and then kills himself in front of young Alex. Years later, Alex, now an adult, is living in an asylum when, during a trip outside, he sees the tattooed woman, and his mother comes to visit him. Then things get really weird. This wasn't really at all what I was expecting. Despite the disturbing things that happen, this feels like less of a horror film, and more of a tragedy about a boy who is really emotionally and mentally messed up by a childhood filled with bizarre and unhealthy things. I suppose it's sort of a psychological horror film? It's what happens if you take a horror/slasher film, but add in all of the backstory that led to the mental breakdown of the killer (in a good way, not in a ham-fisted way). It's definitely an impressively made film. filled with unforgettable scenes. If you're looking for something a little less mainstream, this is a good choice.

36 Days of Halloween - 1988: Beetlejuice

In typical Tim Burton fashion, a couple dies in a completely contrived and ridiculous fashion, only to find themselves haunting their former house. When a horrible family moves in and starts to change everything, they try, without success, to scare them away. Failing that, they call on gross, homeless, pervy Michael Keaton to help them out. He does actually help them out as they requested, so they renege on their promise to him, and ev...eryone but him lives happily ever after. Beetlejuice is *weird*. Really really weird. How did this movie get turned into a children's cartoon? How did Beetlejuice go from being the creepy undead pervert trying to hook up with ~16 year old girl, to being her best friend in the animated version? So, as weird as this movie is, it's also really funny. It's mostly an excuse to use a bunch of weird special effects and show of Tim Burton's visual aesthetic. The various ghosts and ghouls that make appearances, and the wacky attempts to scare away the Deetz family show off some pretty neat special effects (I particularly like when Adam and Barbara show their case worker how they'll be trying to scare the Deetzs; the eyeballs on the fingertips get me every time!). The best scenes are obviously the musical numbers, but the whole thing is ridiculous fun, and seeing Michael Keaton hamming it up as the disgusting "ghost with the most" makes this worth rewatching. 2.5 out of 3 Beetlejuices said out loud.

36 Days of Halloween - 1987: Lost Boys

At an impromptu beach party in Santa Carlo, a shirtless, greased up, long haired guy who looks like a pro wrestler sings an amazing version of "I Believe" and does a killer sax solo. Also, there are vampires. Lost Boys is awesome in every sense of the word. The soundtrack is amazing. The Coreys are fantastic. Kiefer Sutherland is the very definition of cool. The wardrobes are the most gloriously 80s thing you've ever seen. Everything about this movie is amazing, and you should love it. Did I mention the amazing sax solo at a beach party?

36 Days of Halloween Bonus - 1968: Rosemary's Baby

A young couple move into a new home with a bad reputation. When Rosemary discovers she is pregnant with their first child, she is elated. Her joy soon turns to anxiety when the pregnancy proves to be difficult and she begins to suspect her neighbors have more than a normal interest in her child. This was the first time I'd ever seen this film, and for 95% of it, I was thoroughly on board. I was practically glued to the edge of my seat. The too-kind neighbors; the slightly jerky, bit self abosorbed husband; the difficult pregnancy: all of it is handled with such skill. Polanski crafts a deeply disturbing and heartbreaking tale. Your heart breaks for Rosemary and the isolation and pain she's clearly going through, but Polanski keeps all of it just vague enough that you're never quite sure if they really are out to get her, or if she's seeing things that aren't there. You want her to get away from them, not because they're clearly evil, but because the situation is unhealthy for her. But then he ruins the whole thing by making it ten/fifteen minutes too long. What was a tremendously tense and riveting film turns into a farce the exact moment Rosemary walks into the Satanist Party Monthly Meeting. It would have been so much better to leave a little to viewer. Perhaps end the film while Rosemary is recovering, after her jerk of a husband suggests they try again and is talking about his career instead of caring for his nearly catatonic wife. She's staring vacantly at the wall. She turns her head slightly, and we hear just the faintest baby's wail coming from the other side of the wall. Bam, done. Was it in her head? Was it a kidnapping? Were there witches after all? Who knows? Instead it's "HAIL SATAN!" and a demon baby? Ugh.So, five out of five tannis root shakes for the first two hours; Rosemary dumping them down the drain in disgust for the last fifteen minutes.

Review: What Janie Found

What Janie Found by Caroline B. Cooney
My rating: 2 of 5 stars

Jennie Spring was that girl on the milk carton. Kidnapped as a toddler, she lived most of her life thinking she was Janie Johnson. She was raised by the parents of the young woman who kidnapped her. When the deception came out, both families were stunned. The Johnsons had no idea their daughter had kidnapped young Janie. Years later, Janie now has two families. She lives most of her life with the Johnsons, who raised her, but is trying to form stronger relationships with her birth family, the Springs. When Mr. Johnson has a stroke, and Janie is tasked with helping out with the family finances, she finds something that threatens to topple the carefully constructed world she's built for herself.

Dun dun duuuuuuun.

This might have been a better read for me if I had actually read the first three books in the series. As it is, Cooney's novel is a little too "after school special" for me. The central premise feels really melodramatic and overwrought. At no point did I think "Yeah, I can understand the conflict here." Instead, I found myself wanting to shake these people and ask "Why are you being such complete morons?" The final straw, for me, was Stephen's girlfriend, Kathleen. As she's written in the later parts of the book, she's just completely, unbelievably awful. She's completely self absorbed and rude.

The cover design is amazing, and manages to evoke the sorts of YA horror that I still really love from the late 90s/early 00s, but this ends up being a perfect example of "don't judge a book by its cover."

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Review: Fatale Deluxe Edition, Volume One

Fatale Deluxe Edition, Volume One by Ed Brubaker
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Fatale is another amazing collaboration between Brubaker and Phillips (of Criminal fame. Also Sleeper and Incognito, all of which are fantastic reads). In this book, Brubaker blends two parts Dashiell Hammett with one part H.P. Lovecraft, mixes well, and hard boils it for maximum noir goodness. Josephine, the femme fatale of the title, is on the run from a cult determined to find her. At some point in her past, she was cursed; she can influence men to do her bidding, without even meaning to, but doing so inevitably leads them to bad endings.



Brubaker and Phillips have been one of my favorite creative teams for a long time, now, but, even by their high standards, this is a really inspired work. The twist on a classic trope works really well, and it's surprising that the "noir/horror" combination doesn't seem to be used more often.

Brubaker has always done a good job with crime stories, and this is no exception. Here, he's playing around with various noir tropes, and putting a supernatural spin on them to create a fresh new take on a very old genre. The idea that the femme fatale's power over men comes from a supernatural source is actually quite clever, and gets around some of the plot-induced stupidity that men in noir novels sometimes seem to suffer. It also leads to some interesting moments where the men involved question their own actions, wondering why they seem to be acting in ways they wouldn't normally, but also wondering if they're better for it or not.



This first volume spans three generations worth of time, and Brubaker handles this with aplumb by having a framing story set in modern times, with a character looking over documents and manuscripts to queue up flashbacks. It's not complicated, but it is effective. Given that Jo's plot is already complicated enough between her agelessness and the cult, and etc, it's nice that Brubaker made it pretty easy to follow the timeline and spot the overlaps.

Phillips visuals are perfect for this. He captures the heavy shadows, distorted features, and dramatic angles that mark the noir aesthetic. His character designs are perfectly suited to capturing the sense of dread the story contains. I particularly like the designs for the Old Man who leads the cult in the first arc, and of the nameless Associates who follow him around.



This edition also includes two short essays at the end, discussing topics/themes that are present in the work (in particular, Lovecraftian horror, and Poe). Some nudity/sexual content, gore, and violence might make this unsuitable for younger readers, but none of it feels gratuitous. Highly recommended for fans of noir and crime novels who don't mind bit of supernatural horror blended in. Now I just need to get volume 2.




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Review: Hell Yeah! Volume 1: Last Day on Earths

Hell Yeah! Volume 1: Last Day on Earths by Joe Keatinge
My rating: 2 of 5 stars

Ben Day has super powers. Unfortunately, his super powers aren't that great, and he lives in a world where having super powers doesn't really make you that special. Extra unfortunately, someone is cruising through the multiverse killing all of the other Ben Days. Soon, he finds himself stuck in the middle of a conflict he doesn't understand as various people from across the multiverse converge on his reality.

The basic premise-a kid living in a world where superheroes have only been on the scene for generation discovers that everything isn't quite what it seems-seems solid enough, but hte execution here is a little lacking. Slacker Ben seems to take too much in stride, and doesn't really seem to be particularly phased by the weirdness erupting around him. More significantly, the central mystery-who is killing all the other Bens, and why?-remains mostly unsolved by the end. While we do discover the "who", the "why" component is completely untouched. Worst of all, the final few pages make everything that came before them meaningless. It felt like there was supposed to be at least another 10 or 20 pages of material that somehow got left out.



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36 Days of Halloween - 1986: The Fly

Eccentric engineer/scientist Seth Brundle builds a teleportation pod with an unfortunate drawback: it can't teleport living tissue. A budding relationship with beautiful reporter leads to the insight he needs to fix the error. But when he thinks she might be falling back into the arms of her former lover, Seth gets drunk and tests the machine himself. Unfortunately, an errant fly wanders into the pod. Unbeknownst to Seth, he and the fly ar...e merged at the genetic level, and the Brundlefly is born. I *love* this movie. Jeff Goldblum is perfectly cast as the eccentric and socially awkward Brundle. Gina Davis is amazing as the plucky and slightly jaded reporter. That Guy is fantastic as the slimey and smarmy boss. What's not to love? While the relationship between Goldblum and Davis feels very *very* rushed, the transition from Brundle to Brundlefly is spot on. Cronenberg takes his time with the transformation. Brundle's deterioration is very subtle at first. The hairs are the obvious sign, but the way he twitches, his change in posture, his increased energy, and even the way his skin starts to take on a sickly sheen all start to suggest that the teleportation wasn't as successfully as he'd hoped. Obviously, the audience knows going in that he's going to become a fly, but Cronenberg smartly delays the full transformation, which makes the whole thing that much more horrible. That brief period where Seth thinks that, not only did the teleporter work, but that it made him *better* than he was before just makes his eventual realization that something has gone *horribly* wrong that much more powerful. A lot of surprisingly touching moments in a film about a giant fly-monster-man.

36 Days of Halloween - 1985: Re-Animator

Based on H.P. Lovecraft's story of a young medical genius who discovers a serum that brings the dead back to life: Herbert West, a brilliant but disturbing young medical student, is obsessed with brain death. He becomes convinced that he has developed a serum that will rejuvenate the dead. When the serum doesn't quite work as expected and a jealous professor steals the formula, wackiness ensues. This was a fun but *very* campy film that never really takes itself particularly seriously. It's not remotely scary, and even the "gross" scenes are mostly absurd and kind of funny. Herbert is played with an amazing amount of intensity by Jeffrey Combs. Also, as friend of the Blog, Mark, points out, the jealous professor looks an awful lot like John Kerry. Judge for yourself, which is which? ​

36 Days of Halloween - 1983: Videodrome

In Cronenberg's strange body horror film, Max, a small-time tv producer specializing in extreme tv, finds a pirate channel airing non-stop streams of torture and violence. As he looks into the origins of the feed, with the intent of acquiring the program for his channel, he discovers the sinister purpose behind the shows.

This is... really, really weird stuff. Cronenberg is exploring the intersection and exploitation of sex and violence in television here. Of course, he's doing so through a film that revels in graphic violence and sadomasochistic sexuality, so how effective his exploration of the topics seems to be will largely depend on how exploitative one finds the content. As a horror movie, this is fairly effective, as long as the general weirdness doesn't distract the viewer. There's a strong sense of dread throughout, and the disturbing scenes of Max undergoing the changes after his exposure to the Videodrome are some of the most unforgettable scenes in horror cinema; the tv swallowing Max's head is iconic, recognized even by people who've never seen the film. ​

Horrifying and weird.

36 Days of Halloween - Days 1 - 3

Today is officially day four of the 36 Days of Halloween marathon, so I'm three movies in right now. I'm going to try to do mini reviews of each film as I watch it, but here's the backlog so far:

1979 - Alien The crew of the commercial ship Nostromo are brought out of stasis nine months early when the ship detects a signal of unknown origin on a previously uncharted planet. The crew sets down to investigate, unsure of what awaits them. Hint: it's an alien.

Despite being 36 years old, Alien is still an incredibly fresh movie. Without exaggeration, I can safely say that this is my favorite horror movie of all time. Ridley Scott's take on horror is brilliantly paced, packed with an incredible amount of subtle characterization that gives a real sense of who these people are, and filled with practical special effects that keep (most of) the film from looking dated, despite being nearly four decades old. I could, and many people have, write pages and pages of analysis about Alien. Needless to say, this was a really good way to start the Halloween season.

1980 - The Changeling A man grieves the loss of his wife and child in a terrible accident, and moves to the other side of the country to start a new life. When he takes over an old house that has been unused for years, he gets more than he bargained for.

This film is on Scorsese's list of scariest movies ever made, apparently. While this won't make my "scariest movies ever made" list, it did provide a suitably creepy haunted house story a little different from the norm. While there isn't much by way of outright scares, the moody atmosphere and the tragic backstory that is slowly unraveled do provide a very unsettling experience.

1981 - Dead and Buried Sheriff Dan Gillis (James Farentino) finds himself struggling to make sense of what has become of his hometown when a series of bizarre murders strike the small the town. As more people turn up dead, the bodies disappear, and Gillis has a disturbing accident, everyone becomes a suspect.

This low-budget, Twilight Zone-esque flick from the writing team behind Alien is exactly the kind of movie that begs for a dark room, an abundance of beer, and two or three friends. Despite the absurdity of the plot and modest production values, it's hard not to enjoy this one. While it's definitely on the schlocky side, there's less gore and a more misdirection in the writing than you'd expect. Definitely worth checking out (especially, again, with good friends and plenty of booze).

36 Days of Halloween

Halloween is one of my favorite times of year. While this isn't, strictly speaking, book related, I hope you'll indulge me this time. For Halloween this year, I've decided to do 36 days of Halloween, wherein I will be watching a horror movie from each of the years I've been alive, in order, starting with 1979 and ending, the day before Halloween, with 2015. On Halloween I will, of course, be watching Halloween.


The list of films I've picked for this event is as follows:
1979 - Alien
1980 - The Changeling
1981 - Dead & Buried
1982 - Basketcase
1983 - Videodrome
1984 - Gremlins
1985 - Re-Animator
1986 - The Fly
1987 - Lost Boys
1988 - Beetlejuice
1989 - Santa Sangre
1990 - Arachnophobia
1991 - Subspecies
1992 - Candyman
1993 - Cronos
1994 - In the Mouth of Madness
1995 - Day of the Beast
1996 - Sream
1997 - Event Horizon
1998 - Ringu
1999 - Audition
2000 - Ginger Snaps
2001 - The Others
2002 - Dog Soldiers
2003 - Dead End
2004 - R Point
2005 - The Descent
2006 - Black Sheep
2007 - Trick-R-Treat
2008 - Teeth
2009 - Dead Snow
2010 - Troll Hunter
2011 - You're Next
2012 - Cabin in the Woods
2013 - We Are What We Are
2014 - A Girl Walks Home Alone at Night
2015 - It Follows
Reviews as I finish them.

Review: Black Science, Vol. 3: Vanishing Point

Black Science, Vol. 3: Vanishing Point by Rick Remender
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Black Science's third volume is an improvement over the second volume. This time, the group finds themselves visiting an alternate reality best described as sci-fi Rome, devestated by a plague brought to the dimension by alternate versions of themselves.

Remender and Saclera's sci-fi romp still isn't quite living up to the promise of the first volume, but it's getting closer. I really, really want to like this series more than I am, htough. The premise is outstanding, and, while I have some issues with the Scalera's artwork as it stands (why do all of the women in this book look clones with different haircuts?), I think he does a lot of really cool things. The book has a distinct look, the suit designs are really cool, and the color work is bright and eye catching. It's frustrating that the series just feels like it's only running on half steam, and especially frustrating to see Remender relying on the same plot points over and over (e.g. the dramatic twist at the end of the last volume is repeated twice in this volume).

I'm starting to find it hard to justify following this.

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Review: The Complete Multiple Warheads

The Complete Multiple Warheads by Brandon Graham
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Brandon Graham's Multiple Warheads is a tough book to review. What little plot there is follows two "stories". First, there's Sexica (Sex for short) and Nikoli. Sex is an organ smuggler of some kind; she sneaks out of the city and smuggles designer organs back into the city for sale to shady characters. Nik is her boyfriend; he seems to be a shy mechanic. Also he's part werewolf, because she smuggled a werewolf penis into the city and attached it to him, and he became a werewolf (and, yes, the whole book is filled with moments like that). The other story follows a different organ smuggler as she murders her way through a series of increasingly absurd locales in search of a specific target.

Graham's writing is really... unfiltered. This is a book that revels in ribald and perverse humor, puns (and puns and puns), and the absurd. The "stories" don't really follow an arc and none of them are actually resolved. There's a definite stream-of-consciousness feel to the whole thing, as though Graham just started writing down ideas and followed them no matter where they went.

To be blunt, I wasn't really wowed by the writing, here. As it became increasingly clear that the characters weren't actually saying anything important and that a lot of it was just going to be layers upon layers of bad puns and puerile jokes, I found myself skipping over the dialog completely. That skipping the dialog didn't seem to impede my ability to read the book is... not a great sign.

The art, on the other hand, is well worth the price of admission. That's what makes this such a difficult work to evaluate. The writing may be sub-par, but Graham's layouts and designs are brilliant, if absurd. There are moments of real greatness captured in his whimsical drawings. Long shots contain landscapes packed with tiny details that reward close examination.

If you're interested in (or, at least, can get over) Graham's sense of humor (i.e. fart/shit/dick/sex jokes, puns, and more puns) and don't mind cartoon violence and a bit of nudity, this might be worth checking out. As it stands, it wasn't quite my cup of tea, but I did find myself engrossed by some of the amazing and imaginative pages.

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Review: Batman: Earth One, Vol. 2

Batman: Earth One, Vol. 2 by Geoff Johns
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Batman: Earth One, Volume 2 picks up six months after the events of volume one. Alfred has been working with Bruce to train him how to be a better fighter, and some of his work is starting to pay off; the criminal underground knows he exists, and they're starting to fear him.



I'll be the first to admit that I wasn't blown away by Johns and Frank in volume one. It was a perfectly capable Batman story, but it didn't really feel all that different from a million other Batman origin stories that I'd read. There were a few twists on the Batman mythology, but it still felt like Batman: Year One Redux. But this? This was good. Really good. This volume does a lot more to differentiate the character from his mainstream universe counterpart, and plays around with expectations so much more than the first volume did.

I like this take on Batman a lot. He's not the godlike perfection of mainstream Batman; he's a really rich guy who has put on a costume and is trying really hard to make his city better, but is clearly in over his head in a lot of ways. He's not even close to being the World's Greatest Detective, and I love it.



Batman isn't the only character to be reworked and altered on Earth One. Gordon is the least changed of the cast of characters, but everyone else has undergone some significant and interesting changes. Harvey Dent, Riddler, and Killer Croc all make appearances in this volume. Johns' take on Killer Croc is great; it doesn't quite do for him what "Heart of Ice" did for Mr. Freeze, but it's still leaps and bounds better than Croc usually gets.



Ultimately, this is a much more human take on the Dark Knight, well worth taking a look at. While some of it probably only works because it's subverting the tropes and clichés of the original, that's not necessarily a bad thing. Johns and Frank have taken the framework of Batman and put together a really interesting twist on it. "What if Batman didn't decide to start becoming Batman until he was already an adult?" is a worthy idea of exploration, and Johns really does it justice. Now the only question is: when can expect volume three?




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Review: We Can Build You

We Can Build You by Philip K. Dick
My rating: 1 of 5 stars

We Can Build You, by Philip K. Dick (who I usually love) has left me feeling betrayed. It's a sham; a bald-faced lie. The cover and descriptions whisper sweet tales of android presidents and moon settlements and questions about the nature of autonomy and humanity. If you build a perfect replica of a man, is it a man?

Sadly, we'll never know, because the vast majority of this book is really about an old man becoming obsessed with the 18-year-old daughter of his business partner. It's about him refusing to see the myriad reasons why a young mentally ill woman is not the appropriate object of affection for a man who is at least old enough to be her father.

The plot creeps along in fits and starts, and the most interesting aspects of the book--namely, the androids Lincoln and Stanton--repeatedly get sidelined by Dick's focus on mental illness and on Louis "falling in love" with Pris. The whole "romance" plot is particularly egregious given that there's literally nothing about her character or her interactions with Louis that would explain or justify the kind of interest he takes in her.

A confusing mess of a story that feels like it's trying too hard to make Big Social Commentary, but focuses on dull unlikable characters. A rare miss for PKD.

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Review: Batman: Earth One, Vol. 1

Batman: Earth One, Vol. 1 by Geoff Johns
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Batman: Earth One is yet another in a very, very, very long line of retellings of Batman's origin story. Here, Geoff Johns and Gary Frank provide a version of Batman just a little grittier and raw than the mainstream version of Batman. Gone is the father/son by proxy relationship of Alfred and Bruce; instead, Alfred is brought in to provide security for the Waynes (that doesn't go as well as you'd hope). After the murder of Thomas and Martha, Alfred stays on to teach Bruce how to defend himself. Gone is the globe trotting training montage that typically accompanies Batman's origin. Instead, Johns pretty much jumps right into a Batman: Year One style story. This is the big premier of Batman.


I'll be honest, at this point, I've read so many Batman origin stories, it's hard to be fair judging them. They're all so similar. TO Johns' credit, he does add some interesting twists to the story, beyond the lack of Rocky montage. Bullock and Gordon are both very well written and interesting characters in their own right. I particularly like Johns take on Bullock, actually. He's very different from any other version of Bullock I've seen, and yet, he's still very Bullock.

Still, for all that, it is another Batman origin. Slight twists and new takes, but still a "young Bruce Wayne witnesses his parents' murder and adopts a bat disguise to avenge their deaths" story. And, since this is his first time donning the cape, we're treated to a number of scenes of the "Batman over-estimating his own abilities" type. It's entertaining enough, but I couldn't help but feel like I'd read it before.



Visually, Frank's art straddles the modern "realistic" take on super heroes and the more traditional comic style, resulting in a very detailed style that fits the book well. This Batman is a little more human than a lot of representations, so it makes sense for Frank to provide a costume for him that looks more like real clothing. You can always see Batman's eyes, for example (instead of just white eyes), and the earliest versions of the bat suit have combat boots and seams.

If you haven't read a million other verisons of Batman's origin, this is probably a four star book. Johns' writing is crips, and Frank's artwork is detailed and kinetic. If you've read as much Batman over the years as I have, this probably doesn't have nearly as much draw. It's entertaining enough, but it doesn't really bring enough new material to the table to make it a must-read.



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Review: The Awesome

The Awesome by Eva Darrows
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Sometimes when I'm coming back from picking up lunch, I'll browse the newly returned/waiting to be shelved cart, looking for something fun and/or silly to read. Most of the time, it ends up being something from the graphic novel shelf, but this week, it was The Awesome, by Eva Darrows. I literally knew nothing about this book when I picked it up, except that it had a giant neon green skull with vampire teeth biting down on spalshy neon pink lettering shouting "THE AWESOME" at my eyeballs.

What is The Awesome? The Awesome is 17-year-old Maggie Cunningham, who is basically what you get if you take Buffy the Vampire Slayer, remove her super powers, and give her a foul-mouthed mother who spends her days teaching her daughter the ways of the monster hunter. She's teenage Simon Belmont with badass lady Van Helsing for a mother. In short, she's The Awesome, just like this book.

This book is equal parts monster fighting and teenage girl drama, which I'm sure isn't everyone's cup of tea, but it was really refreshing to read about teens who act like teens. Maggie swears, is a little uncomfortable with her own body, is a smartass even when she knows she shouldn't be, feels bad about it even when she can't bring herself to apologize, and, yes, has sexual feelings about other people her own age. Also, she kills monsters.

While this has a lot of strong parralels to Buffy, the Vampire Slayer, Darrows has done a good job making this her own thing. It's a hodge-podge of influences and different takes on mythologies, and it all comes together in a fun, ridiculous, pulpy stew.

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Review: The Goats

The Goats by Brock Cole
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

When I started reading The Goats, by Brock Cole, I kept thinking "Wow, this reminds me a lot of the YA fiction stuff I read when I was a kid." Eventually, I checked the publication date, and, sure enough, it was published in 1987. The premise: A boy and a girl, both 13, end up being ditched on a small island, with no clothes or food, by their co-campers as part of a traditional camp prank. Embarrassed, afraid, and lonely, the two kids decide to try to escape from the island, rather than wait for their tormentors to return.

There is a sense of naiveté here that I strongly associate with 80s/early 90s YA lit. Some of it is cringe-worthy—a character concerned about sleeping in the same bed as another girl because “the black girl was so big, and she’d never touched a black person’s skin”—but most of the time, I found the innocence of the two characters more charming than not. This is a story about kids who are just starting to cross the bridge into adulthood, but they’re mostly just kids. And, in a lot of ways, they’re kids like I was a kid: a little awkward, a little picked on, a little confused by why things are the way they are.

One of the best parts of The Goats is the very organic way that Cole lets the kids, Howie and Laura, become close. The gradual way that they come to not only rely on, but trust and like each other, is very well executed. There’s not really any one particular moment where you can say “Oh, hey, they’re friends now.” Instead, there’s a continuum; at one end, they’re strangers who resent and distrust each other, at the other, they’re close friends who’ve overcome a unique and intense situation.

As much as I enjoyed this book, I wonder whether today’s youth would enjoy it as much, given the lack of nostalgia it would hold for them. Are the characters just a little too innocent for today’s world? Would the lack of cell phones be too jarring to kids who are so much more checked in than my generation was?

Amusingly, when I checked this out from the library, there was a small sticky note just inside the front of the book. At least some other reader found a lot in this book to chew on, so maybe it’s not all nostalgia, after all?


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Review: Punk Rock Jesus Deluxe Edition

Punk Rock Jesus Deluxe Edition by Sean Gordon Murphy
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Sean Gordon Murphy is quickly becoming one of my favorite comic book guys. His work on Joe the Barbarian is outstanding, and it's hard to imagine American Vampire without him. Punk Rock Jesus is the only thing I've read where he did both the writing and art, but I'd like to see more from him.

The premise is simple enough: A major media conglomeration decides to put together the ultimate reality show in the form of the second coming of Christ. Who has time to wait for the Lord's return, though? Instead, they claim to have cloned the savior from blood found on the shroud of Turin. In a culture obsessed with celebrity, television, and religion, this makes for the ultimate ratings grab. But what happens with the Lord decides he's had enough and sets out to tear down what his corporate masters have built up?

If you're looking for subtlety, a book called Punk Rock Jesus is probably not the best place to look. That said, if you're interested in a well paced story full of interesting characters and more than a little social criticism and satire, you could do a lot worse. Murphy is scathingly critical of the culture of celebrity media obsession that has taken over, but provides a much more balanced and sympathetic view of faith than you'd expect from the cover. The criticism here isn't about individual faith, but of the dangers that come from forcing faith on other people or allowing one person's faith to dictate other people's lives; messages that feel particularly topical right now.

Murphy has a kinetic, highly stylized approach to his art; I'm sure the black and white illustrations won't be to everyone's taste, but I thought they worked extremely well, here. There's clearly some anime/manga influence to his work, but it's a hybrid style that has a strong personal signature.

I picked this up on an impulse after recognizing Murphy's name, and, I must admit, this was surprisingly good; so much better than I thought it would be.

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Review: Revival, Vol. 5 : Gathering Of Waters

Revival, Vol. 5 : Gathering Of Waters by Tim Seeley
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

After a brief dip in the fourth volume, Revival kicks it back into gear with a fantastic fifth volume. Tim Seeley and Mike Norton continue their "rural noir" exploration in great style.

I was a little worried after it felt like the fourth volume was starting to stall things that Revival was going to be spinning its wheels a bit; I'm happy to be proven so very wrong. Seeley and Norton are firing on all cylinders, now. They've taken a genre that has been done to death, and they're breathing new life into it, and taking it in unexpected new directions. It's hard to imagine that I'd be talking about how excited I am to be reading an ongoing series about zombies in the tail end of 2015, but there it is. Seeley is really engaging with a lot of interesting ideas, and I'm genuinely excited to see where it goes. This is probably the best "new" book I've read so far this year (new to me, at least).

Once again, Norton turns in excellent work on the art. The biggest black mark in this collection, sadly, falls on his shoulders. Near the end of the collection, at a particularly pivotal moment, there are four pages that appear to have been done by a fill-in artist, and it really mars an otherwise amazing collection. The fill-in artist lacks any of Norton's subtlety, and the characters take on a far more cartoonish appearance. Given the importance of the scene, it's a particularly glaring change.

Other than that, though, this is pretty amazing work. If you're not reading this yet, you damn well ought to be.



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Review: God Hates Astronauts, Vol. 1: The Head That Wouldn't Die!

God Hates Astronauts, Vol. 1: The Head That Wouldn't Die! by Ryan Browne
My rating: 2 of 5 stars

God Hates Astronauts, by Ryan Browne, is a little bit like a mid-2000s Adult Swim show. There's a lot of "random" humor, graphic violence, and swearing. There are deformed cowboys riding seahorses, a character based on Family Matters cop, Carl Winslow, with gorilla arms, etc. There's a lot of stuff going on, and a clear "throw everything to the wall and see what sticks" aesthetic. Except that the wall appears to have been made of glue. If this is the stuff that stuck, one can't help but wonder what didn't.

This is definitely a case where I'm the wrong target for this book, but where i imagine that, in the right hands, this book would absolutely kill it. I would guess that this hits all the right notes for fans of shows like Super Jail, later Ren & Stimpy, or who are still watching Aquateen Hunger Force. It's raw, unfiltered, absurd jokes and violence slapped over a veil-thin plot.

Not my cup of tea, but a fine meal for someone.

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Review: Colere Noire Tpb

Colere Noire Tpb by Thierry Smolderen
My rating: 2 of 5 stars

In Colere Noire, Marielle, a recently divorced woman living with her teen son, and Stella, an enigmatic South American visiting with her husband, are strangers doing their daily shopping when the senseless violence of a grocery store robbery leaves their loved ones dead. The pain and anger that follows, and their desire for justice, creates a bond that forever links the two women, despite their very different life experiences. When the police prove to be ineffective at helping bring the killer to justice, the two women begin to plot revenge on the man who pulled the trigger.

Thierry Smolderen seems to be interested in exploring the minds and relationships of women in this middle of the road crime comic, but, ultimately, falls into the tired cliche of making two ostensibly straight women suddenly gay for each other for the benefit of the fan service. The criminals are largely forgettable, except for the primary antagonist, which doesn't help. The crime itself does have a somewhat interesting motivation, but that's not enough to save what is otherwise a fairly mediocre work.

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Review: Jonny Double

Jonny Double by Brian Azzarello
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

This pre-100 Bullets work from Brian Azzarello and Eduardo Risso pulls obscure DC beatnik private eye Jonny Double and puts him into a typical noir detective set-up. A bunch of restless twenty-somethings out looking for thrills think they've come up with a clever get-richer-quick scheme: steal the money from an inactive bank account belonging to the now-deceased Al Capone. Jonny, who is being paid to watch over the daughter of a wealthy client, gets pulled into the scheme. Of course, nothing goes as planned, and when it hits the fan, Jonny has to figure out who he can trust, and who wants to put a knife in his back.

As a huge fan of 100 Bullets, I wanted to love this a lot more than I actually did. The plot, from Azzarello, is solid enough, but relies on a series of coincidences that end up feeling a little bit like a cheat. As the saying goes, it's ok to use coincidence to get characters in to trouble, but it's cheating to use coincidences to get them out. Unfortunately, a lot of the plot of Jonny Double relies on coincidences, both to get him in and out of trouble, which makes the final act a little unsatisfying.

Risso's art is all orange and blue and heavy shadow. Risso's work is perfect for urban crime fiction, and this is no exception. His work often has a cinematic quality, with scenes playing out in unusual angles and the point of view shifting between characters. One of Risso's trademarks seems to be the big panel showing a wide scene with smaller, close-up, panels laid over it.

While Risso's art is generally well laid out and really matches--or sets--the mood of the story, there's a scene (the nightclub scene) where the Risso and Azzarello have too many things happening at once, and too much of the action is happening off the page, so that it's really hard to tell exactly what is really happening. Over the course of three pages, two characters are seriously injured, but it's not clear at all who did it, despite most of the action happening in a heavily occupied bathroom.

If you're looking for a decent noir mystery, or looking for a work that could easily be a 100 Bullets side story, this is a good option. While the conclusion relies too heavily on chance for my taste, and the club scene is hard to parse, the book does show Azzarello's command of urban crime fiction. Even the smallest bit characters are given a real sense of being, and Azzarello puts a lot of tiny details into the story that really shine through as slice-of-life moments.

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Review: Revival, Vol. 4: Escape to Wisconsin

Revival, Vol. 4: Escape to Wisconsin by Tim Seeley
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

The mystery of the revived and the murder of Em continues in volume four of Revival. I've praised Seeley and Norton repeatedly, and most of that praise carries on here. This volume continues to explore a number of important sub-plots happening throughout the first three volumes. The biggest problem with this volume are two things: a crossover with Chew that doesn't really further the plot at all (and could have easily been part of a regular story not involving Chew; I know I'm pretty much the only person who doesn't love Chew, but, well, I really don't like it), and a weird and somewhat jarring interlude between Em and a reviver introduced in this book.

This volume just doesn't have as much meat as the previous volumes, and much of it feels just a little uneven. Dana's trip to NYC is perhaps the highlight of the volume, as it helps develop her relationship with her son and ties up a loose end from early in the series, but most of the rest of the story arcs contained here just don't measure up to earlier volumes.

Still, Revival at its lowest point so far is still far better than a lot of other works.

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Review: Black Science, Vol. 2: Welcome, Nowhere

Black Science, Vol. 2: Welcome, Nowhere by Rick Remender
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Black Science is an ambitious work. The whole Quantum Leap/Sliders/Star Gate combo, flying through parallel universes, trying to get home, possibly running into alternate versions of themselves, all while surviving on very alien versions of Earth... this is big complicated pulpy sci-fi goodness. It really should be an easy sell, as well. So why is this volume such a mess?

The artwork, by Scalera, White, and Spicer is certainly partially responsible. While there are plenty of really inspired and interesting visuals here--see, for instance, the opening splash page depicting an alien Colosseum and fish drawn chariot--too much of the book is really muddy and hard to decipher. Action sequences, in particular, read very poorly. While the designs themselves are visually appealing, the backgrounds are often indistinct smudges and blobs, and the color palate relies heavily on dark blues, greens, purples, and browns.

Remender also has the unfortunate habit of jumping around wildly, making following the story--which would, frankly, be pretty difficult anyway, given that we're dealing with multiple versions of the characters traveling through parallel realities--more difficult than it needs to be. I'm not sure that focusing on Pia and Nate for so much of the story was a wise narrative move. Pia and Nate are two of the weakest characters in this volume. Pia, in particular, spends far too much of the story being bitter and whiny to be enjoyable. I understand that she's supposed to be dealing with the fallout of the last volume's events, but you'd think that running for your lives on an alien reality might provide a little bit more perspective than she seems to have about her priorities. Maybe while fleeing from psychic centipede monsters isn't the best time to have the "our dad is a jerk" conversation?

Still, even with those complaints, there's still a solid core of total awesomeness here. Remender is losing some good will here, but there's enough crunch sci-fi goodness for me to give volume 3 a chance. Get it together, Remender. You've got a great set-up, now do good things with it.

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Review: Revival, Vol. 3: A Faraway Place

Revival, Vol. 3: A Faraway Place by Tim Seeley
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Volume 3 of Tim Seeley and Mike Norton's rural noir continues the high quality of the earlier volumes and pushing the story in interesting directions.

After the explosive violence of the last issue, Em and Dana are forced into an uneasy truce, although both continue to hide secrets from the other. Em refuses to help Dana solve the mystery of Em's death, and Dana is starting to close in on her prime suspect. Meanwhile, tensions continue to mount as the quarantine drags on and the farmers have their livestock taken from them for testing. On top of all that, there are finally some clues as to the nature of the ghosts/visitors that wander the areas outside of town.

There's a lot going on in this volume, but that's not a bad thing. There's always a danger in serialized works that things will drag on too long and that the answers never really come. Seeley does a great job providing some answers (or at least hinting at some of them) while providing even more questions to press the story forward. The book provides satisfying plot progression on both of the main plots--who killed Em? What's the deal with everyone coming back from the dead?--even though that progression mostly serves to create more questions.

There's not much to say about the artwork that I haven't said already; Norton's art is a pleasure. I particularly enjoy the range of expressions he's able to give different characters. All of them have distinct appearances and express a full range of emotions. Excellent work.

While there's always the threat that a serialized work will stagnate and tread water, it's refreshing to see that Seeley and Norton have avoided that pitfall so far. If you enjoyed the first two volumes, I can't imagine anything that would prevent you from enjoying this one.

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